Vice President Spoke at Florida State Graduation

With blue skies overhead and a diploma in their hands, FSU graduates headed into their future Sunday. Vice President Dick Cheney gave Florida State's commencement address.

Security tightened around the Civic Center as Vice President Dick Cheney took the stage. Bleachers filled to the rafters with the hopes and dreams of family and friends of the graduates.

With more than 1,600 graduates walking and over 10,000 people in attendance, this was FSU's largest graduation ceremony ever. Organizers say the record crowd is thanks to the commencement speaker who apparently did his homework on Florida State football.

"You'll all miss a horse named Renegade charging across the field with Chief Osceola in the saddle and on the sidelines the winningest coach in college football's history, Bobby Bowden,” Cheney said.

Of course, the speaker spent most of his time talking about learning life lessons through politics. One of his funnier moments came when he discussed the first time he met current Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

"Don's first impression of me is that I was kind of a detached impractical academic type and I thought he was a brash cocky young politician, and we were both right, "added Cheney.

When the speeches were over more than 1,600 grads took the chance to shake hands with FSU president T.K. Wetherell and most were impressed with Cheney's speech.

"I liked it. It kinds had a little humor to it, usually people think it's just gonna be a serious speech kind of boring but I kind of enjoyed it," one graduate said.

With their education behind them they walk into the future some with excitement, some with hesitance, but all with a little more wisdom. Vice President Cheney also mentioned 25 FSU students serving our country in Iraq, but he stayed away from attacks on John Kerry.

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